Basking in Baoku

As I’m sitting here figuring out what flowers I want to plant early in eggshells in my house before spring begins, I’m already anticipating the sunshine. I know it causes cancer, but it’s helpful to our health, too. It can help with fertility and reduce depression. The sun’s ultraviolet rays can create Vitamin D when it comes in contact with our skin. Down on Main Street had a show Saturday night in which we got to bask in another kind of light: Baoku Moses.

I’ve summed up before how Baoku makes my serotonin surge, mellows out my melatonin. Hearing him is a health benefit in itself. Being that Baoku is from Cincinnati, it was Uncle Eddie and Robin that brought him to Wheeling, and their relationship came to fruition from a festival. Having heard him play, they knew they had to have him here, and we hope he’ll be back frequently!

Although the show was set to start at 10 by 9 there were no available seats to sit on. I overheard people predicting what they were going to get: “Some guy from Cincinnati,” said one. “I think he plays the drums,” another guy guessed. I could barely hear the juke box over the banter about Baoku.

As always, the crowd came in all forms – diverse in age range and hat wear – some came in caps, others toted top hats, some people wore bandanas, some were bald, and one girl even had early Easter bunny ears. People were going green in a variety of ways celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. Maracas and tambourines were passed among the people. I saw someone in a suit and tie take up a tambourine and even saw someone giving tambourine lessons to an eager girl in a green dress.

Each entertainer set to perform in the show is worth seeing alone, but so many seasoned musicians sharing a stage, all at once, for free, was fantastical. As Baoku began, so did the dancing. One lady leading the way called on “all the gypsies to join” her. At one point people who were coming late to the show didn’t make it past the door – they were stuck standing where they entered because Baoku had a wall of wonder around him.

As Baoku encouraged proactive participation, it didn’t take me long to stop being business and start being a fan. Joined throughout the night by Adrian Niles, Uncle Eddie and Robin, Travis Hoard, Josh Garrett, and Jon Posey, the show was too amazing to be a bystander. We all soaked up Baoku’s sun, were rejuvenated by his rays. The show ended with a crowd-participatory drum circle, and it was a sunset worth seeing. It’s an honor to see something so splendid as the beacon that is Baoku Moses.

He’s proven to be a good ambassador for Nigeria, it’s music and culture as well as Fela the assumed progenitor of baoku’s genre of music. I never knew Baoku personally, but the friend (Taiwo Adagende) who told me about him and their exploits up to the National Theatre in Lagos. Nigeria have all proven not just to be true, but are now seemenly understatements. Bravo bro!